This disc presents music by French composers of the 17th and
18th century. Some of it is played instruments other than those
for which it was written. Sometimes this means that the compositions
have to be arranged in order to fit the instruments on which
they are played. There was a time when adherents of historical
performance practice were not very keen on arranging music.
The original idea of this movement was to perform music exactly
the way it was written by the composer. Even if one recognises
that interpreters have to add something of their own (like
ornamentation) - which is generally accepted nowadays - there
is still some scepticism as far as arrangements are concerned.

But, as the American oboist and musicologist Bruce Haynes writes
in the booklet, the practice of arranging music was very common
in the baroque era. Composers frequently performed their
own works, and they didn't play them exactly the same way
every time. Often composers arranged their own compositions.
Johann Sebastian Bach’s Schübler Choräles are arrangements
for organ of movements from his cantatas. And he wasn't afraid
to arrange music by other composers as well. Composers often
left it to the interpreters to choose the instrument on which
to play their music. Sometimes they specifically suggested
several ways of performing them.

From this one may conclude that there are no objections whatsoever
to arranging or reworking compositions. Still some questions
remain. It may be true that composers left it to the performer
to choose the instrument on which to play their music but
that wasn't always the case. Isn't it reasonable to assume
that if the composer mentioned a specific instrument other
instruments are excluded? Furthermore, some works are so
idiomatic that they need a lot of reworking to make them
playable on another instrument. Can such an arrangement leave
the intentions of the composer intact? Is there any limit
to the practice of arranging? How far is an interpreter allowed
to go? And yes, we know that Bach played his compositions
for solo violin - very idiomatically written for the instrument
- on the keyboard, but does this give today's interpreters
the right to do the same? It is not their own music, after
all.

One misunderstanding should be cleared up. Arrangements as played
on this disc are in no way comparable to the arrangements
of the romantic era like Bach's organ chorales played by
a symphony orchestra. The main difference is that here music
written for a baroque instrument, for instance the harpsichord,
is played on other baroque instruments, two gambas. Both
the harpsichord and the viola da gamba, with all their differences
in character and technical features, have their roots in
the same aesthetic ideals. Therefore there is a much better
chance that the intentions of the composer remain intact.

All questions apart: what in the end is decisive is how well
the arrangements sound and how close they are to what the
composer had in
mind. From this perspective I am not totally enthusiastic
about this disc. The two gambists play brilliantly, as they
usually do in their recordings. But the arrangements are
not always convincing. As is to be expected, the pieces originally
written for one viola da gamba and basso continuo, reworked
here for two gambas, work best. In particular the closing
work, 'Les Folies d'Espagne' by Marais, is given an enthralling
reading. But the harpsichord pieces by Couperin are obviously
more difficult to arrange. In some works the composer uses
effects which are so strongly connected to the harpsichord
that they are not easily played on two viols. I also find
the opening work of this disc, Lebègue's 'Les Cloches', rather
unconvincing in this form: just too much of the original
is lost. And Rameau's La Coulicam is not very satisfying
either.

But I realise this is partly personal and it is quite possible that
others will have a different experience and will enjoy those
pieces I find a little disappointing. My advice: find out
for yourself, as the playing is of the highest calibre and
the sound of the gambas has been recorded brilliantly.

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